Four intelligence operatives of the police were tortured and killed in Barangay Mabato in Ayungon town on July 18.

Following this, a spate of killings plagued the province, where a total of 13 people were killed, including a lawyer tagged as sympathetic to the New People's Army, a former mayor of Ayungon town, an incumbent councilor and a barangay captain in Canlaon City, a school principal and his sister, and a barangay captain also in Guihulngan City.

PNP chief, Gen. Oscar Albayalde had earlier blamed local communist rebels for the series of deaths, as he also cited a scheme on the part of the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines)-NPA where they sacrifice their own and then blame government forces for alleged human rights violation."

During the 2019 Outstanding Government Workers Awards rites also at MalacaAang on Tuesday, Duterte renewed his order to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to go on full-scale attack against the NPA.

He later clarified to the media that his order was equivalent to an all-out war against the CPP-NPA listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

At kung maaari, lumaban sila nang husto kasi hindi ako magtanggap ng surrender (And if possible, they should continue fighting because I will not accept surrender), he added.

Duterte said he went out of his way after he appointed hard-core communist members in his Cabinet when he assumed presidency in 2016.

Then I initiated talks. Dito sila sa (Here in the) Palace. The Tiamzon even. Pumunta sa Davao, nag-dinner kami. Kaibigan. No personal hatred pero hindi kami magkaintindihan (They even went to Davao, we had dinner as friends. No personal hatred but we did not understand each other), Duterte said.

In November 2017, Duterte terminated the peace talks between the government peace panel and the CPP's political wing, the National Democratic Front (NDF), amid the series of attacks launched by the NPA against government forces and civilians. (PNA)

MANILAA former inmate at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) on Thursday revealed that healthy prisoners...

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